Evidence of Stone Age 'Inequality'

from BBC News Online

A study of more than 300 Neolithic skeletons suggests evidence of "hereditary inequality" among farmers 7,000 years ago, researchers claim. Archaeologists from Cardiff University led a team who studied the skeletons from across Europe. They say evidence suggests farmers buried with tools had access to better land than those buried without.

Dr Penny Bickle, of Cardiff University, said community diversity "probably occurred through inheritance." The research was conducted by archaeologists from Cardiff, Bristol and Oxford universities, and others across Europe.

The project was led by Professor Alasdair Whittle from Cardiff University's school of history, archaeology and religion, and involved studying more than 300 skeletons across central Europe. The researchers claim to have evidence which suggests "differential land use among the first farmers of Europe, called the Neolithic period."

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